Were you/ your children in the Pony Club, and why/ why not?

I came through the pony club system from what is now i believe considered to be a slightly cliquey club. Didn't feel like it when i was there though. Camp and tetrathlon were the highlights for me. Being one of only about 9 or 10 boys in the whole branch perhaps meant we were 'cherished' a little more...i'm not sure. I still to this day am a stickler for tack being put on correctly with all straps and keepers tucked in lol!

I left when i was about 15 i guess as my showjumping ambitions had outgrown what PC could offer...
 
I didn't do Pony Club because I didn't get my first horse until my teens.

One of my daughter's joined, and attended winter rallies, but to be honest it bored the life out of her :p however neither of my children are super keen or wanting to compete in a big way, so who know's?

From my point of view I was relieved, I'm not a lover of the pony club mum's in my area :rolleyes: I am friends with one mother, and two of her daughter's are still member's and love it, but we definitely have a different attitude to it all. I do think it's great for the affordable teaching though.
 
I went for one season and never went back!

I got my pony when I was 12 and he was a little git who reared a lot- I hacked him to all of the rallies and I got the feeling we weren't the 'type' of people the PC were trying to attract!

After being told I would need to find another pony if I expected to attend camp (oh yes, I have loads of well behaved ponies at home, I just chose to bring this one for a laugh! :rolleyes:) I never went back.

Then at 15 I bought an unbroken 3yro 17hh horse so PC was never really an option after that!
 
Rosie has been a member of her local PC for as long as I can remember (now an associate member as she's turned 21?). She was a showjumping-crazy child who probably wouldn't be eventing now but for the fact that she was persuaded to so there were enough children to form a team. She did everything and camp was a highlight of the summer holidays.
Her Mum was the SJ organiser (don't know what her position was called) and was on the committee for years. The dedication of most of the committee amazes me. The DC at one time was the very kind man who bought her Bertie, far and away the most expensive horse she's ever had, because he thought she was talented enough to try for the junior team and he wanted to help her.

I don't think they are particularly snobby or cliquey - there's a smattering of 'tricky' parents but they're outweighed by the lovely ones.

Rambo - so that's where Rosie's obsession with tucking in straps comes from :D.
 
I feel a bit conflicted about PC if I am honest.

Our branch isn't snobby or especially smart, though there are some lovely horses, but of course it is run by parents who can get very competitive. It's inevitable I suppose and if you want to change something then get involved yourself.

The downside is that you have to be eagle eyed as a parent, as your child and horse are being managed by people who don't neccessarily have lots of experience!! My mare was crippled at camp a couple of years ago and I still quietly seethe at that.

On the plus side for a number of years my sons spent a few days in August every year, camping in a field with lots of other kids, hooning round on their ponies, swimming every evening, sitting round a campfire and having experiences which will last a lifetime so I wouldn't change that.
 
I went to PC for all of a few months tbh. Didn't have my own pony when I joined - borrowed whichever of a 'friends' was going spare. This did mean doing mounted games once on a 15.3hh cob! (I was a midget!!). I only did one comp which was games, and 1 working rally, and attempted to join the musical ride with my mare who didn't want to play :rolleyes: We were really limited as had no transport, so could only do what I could get a lift to and I just never really got involved.
Don't miss it anyway! :) Much prefer having private lessons at home. Guess I'm just antisocial :P
 
I wasn't allowed to join the pony club until I was 15, as my mother had heard all the negative press. However I finally persuaded her, and she was pleasantly surprised.

We didn't join the local Kent branch (which had most of the negative press), but instead crossed over to the nearest East Sussex. She admits she was pleasantly surprised, an made as many friends as I did.

It was great I did everything. Teams were picked by who was most likely to win AND turned up to practice. If there were 12 of you who wanted to do it they entered 3 teams so you all got a go, £10k horse or shaggy loan pony.

I managed to get as far as my H test, and if the leaving age had been what it is now would have done my A.

I had an ex-steeplechaser who was frowned upon at rallies cos 'follow the leader' blew his brains and he went ape if ridden without stirrups. But once he was doing double clears over open courses they soon overlooked his unruly behaviour!

We used to be on the Tetrathlon team, but I never did much like running, so I had a deal with the trainer that if my score was needed to count (he was pretty much gauranteed a clear XC unless we jumped the gate) I would run, and otherwise I just walked through the start and end for a 0!

Towards the end I taught the minis and did god knows how much jump judging! I've moved area now, or I expect I would still be jump judging.

If my small child takes to horses he will be joining the local PC in a few years, once I've found out which is the down to earth branch!
 
PC was a real turning point for me. I'd ridden (on riding school ponies) from the age of 4 and badgered my parents for a pony incessantly from about 6 upwards. They finally relented when I was 14 and we (I! With ALL my savings from the last 8 years) bought the most unsuitable Arab you could ever think of - God knows why (because we didn't know any better). Joining the local PC made it work though - that Arab, with just PC input (I never had regular instruction) went on to do Area dressage, SJ and horse trials (at 'proper' Area level).

I sold him when I was 17 (that was the deal - sell the pony, concentrate on A-levels :D) and instead rode for our DC until I went to Uni - lots of different creatures, including some out-of-the-market bargains, but still with just PC input. Honestly, PC taught me so much. Gosling Cup (a massive ODE with extras in our region) is solely responsible for making sure I can turn out to the very highest standard.

Our branch wasn't immune to the snobbery and I would say that although I did make friends, I wasn't in the 'in set' because we weren't loaded, I had an unusual pony and I hadn't been a member since before I could walk. I can understand why not being part of the 'in set' could be difficult for some kids, but it didn't really bother me.

Since then, I've done about 12 years as a PC instructor (not since I've had children), done 10 years on the committee (never again!) and helped out at team things as a sort of chef d'equipe. I really believe it's a great way for kids to learn and a full days instruction at a rally for £20 is pretty good - wish I could get that!

I think PC has something to offer everyone. If your experience is negative - tell someone, MOST branches will try hard to rectify the situation.

Now that I have a daughter, I hope that one day she might be interested (but she won't be forced if she's not) and look forward to getting involved again. However, the one negative I've come across as an instructor / committee member are the overly-pushy parents. They really can be unbelieveably hideous. As someone else said though, the lovely versions tend to outweigh the hideous and it's possible to ignore them with a bit of practice......!
 
I was in the PC and loved it! I joined when I was about 9 and stayed untill I was 16 and I was on all the teams and went to all the rallies.
My mum joined me for a christmas present as she thought it would be good experience for me and fun for me.
Yes like anything in life there were people we were friends with and people we didn't get on so much with, instructors that were good, some that weren't but as a kid it all went over my head really! I just remember having a blast! Especially at PC camp!
 
Tinap555 said:
^as IME said^ this is just what we were like when we joined pc! Had a 12hh pony that had been bought off a mate for £50 & we kept him on an allotment in the middle of the estate!

Never felt more at home at our pc branch though!! :D
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Your branch sounds lovely. And I think mine is, if you are fully involved / want to join in. I suspect we're just not the type of family pony club is aimed at. Most of the people I've met from our branch seem really nice, though we don't really have anything much in common other than that we have kids / ponies.

I have limited time to do anything outside work (the horses / ponies are a bit of an escape for me) & my (somewhat free range) kids hate being over-regulated in what (for them) is something they do for fun. They do enjoy some of the rallies, though getting them individual lessons with instructors of our choice at times that we can do works better for us. A one hour PC rally for each of 3 children can take up most of a Saturday, by the end of which I'm thoroughly frazzled.

We don't really do PC teams, so I can't comment on that, though I'm sure it can be huge fun for those that do. For us it would be more stressful than fun & involve far too much of a time commitment, with team training etc.
 
Im 14 and in pony club but to be fair we have a great dc who is lovely and we are very lucky in that we are based at somerford park facilites are amazing!! Camp there every year which is fantastic. Meet some really great friends and the instruction is great (most of the time) ;-)
 
I have real fond memories of my Pony Club and still remember in detail a HM rally held about 10 miles away. I cycled to the rally it was pouring with rain and I got lost - we learnt how to bandage.

I still have my D & C certificates taken 45 years ago and my first rosette that was won on Tango a borrowed pony.

At 60 I'm still giving back what I got out of Pony Club. I'm our area Head Coach, local club head coach and look after the area website. Also examine up to B certificate, make all our games equipment and run HM courses for kids taking exams.

I love it - the kids keep me young and sometimes exhausted! I have such fuun with them - on Friday it was prize giving and I spent time teaching some of the kids how to play chop sticks on the piano in the school hall we were using.

Sometimes PC politics cause problems - we have one very bossy pushy woman who does a hell of a lot - purely because she cannot delegate. She pushes people away and makes them feel unwanted. She is inclined to take over meetings - fortunately her mum is also on the committee and will at times tell her to "Shut Up!" when she goes over the top.

We have a small membership and have heaps of fun. Our club has great facilities an arena, cross country course, lovely showjumps and heaps of games equipment.

A club is only as good as the people who are running it, when members grumble I just tell them if they don't like how things are run then front up at the AGM and take on a job.
 
I'd have loved to, but had none supportive parents and no horse until I was 17 and could pay for it myself, and then limited transport (had a lorry very kindly leant to me, but no driver!)

My parents always drilled into me that it wasn't for "people like us", and so it was never an option, even though the fantastic guy I used to ride for when I was 11 onwards tried to persuade them otherwise.

Hey ho, I am sure I would have had some fantastic times, and do marvel at how well the "system" works around us, BUT there is also a LOT of money in out PC's, so tbh I probably wouldn't have benefitted a huge amount anyway :o
 
I didn't get to go to ponyclub as had non hosey parents and no transport. I got to attend a local riding club that I could hack to (occasionally), but that was about it.

My daughter is now in her first year of ponyclub (at 7) and I am enjoying being a ponyclub mum. Everyone seems lovely. I particularly enjoyed sitting in the instructor's garden drinking pims in th sunshine while daughter did her badge theory last week! And very much looking forward to her mini-mini camp - because I get to go too! At last, at the grand old age of 41.
 
I joined the Pony Club when I got my first pony at the age of 11. It was a newly formed branch and at that time there was little else available in the area in the way of instruction. I made a lot of friends even though I didn’t attend the same school as anyone else and we socialised a lot away from horses. Camp was the highlight of the year and there was never a feeling that we were outgrowing Pony Club, in fact one boy even celebrated his 21st at camp. I attend camp until I was 18 and then went back and taught there for a number of years. As it was a “young” branch there was no feeling that we had traditions to follow and there were no cliques and feelings of financial superiority.

My son joined Pony Club when he was about 6. The branch he joined was very different from the one I was in. It was an old established branch with a wide catchment area and a large membership and was competitively very successful. As a junior it seemed as though most of the club activities were focussed on the older members and the juniors seemed to be overlooked. As it was such a large club it was hard to make friends and for a while he seemed to be ahead of his age group and didn’t get much out of it. He then started riding with a slightly older group who were very competent and competitive which gave him something to aspire to and he began to get a lot out of it. A new DC then changed things a lot and now every child is a valued member regardless of age or ability. He went on to do his B test and went to the Championships on several occasions. Being at uni a long way from home limited his PC activities and many of his team mates left but he has remained friends with several. He was a member up until this year although he didn’t do much the last 2 or 3 years – I had hoped he would do his A test but sadly he can’t be persuaded. I am now on the committee and my son is actively involved in helping with team training so we still have strong links with the branch and feel we are putting back into a branch that we gained a lot from.
 
I loved Pony Club! I was in Poole & District. Quite a small branch, surrounded by much larger ones (portman, west hants etc).

I really think it depends on what discipline you participate in. I was in the mounted games and SJ teams. The games team was very close knit as we had to work as a team, we were all the same age and even though most of them had a lot of money, I was mostly included (mostly!) The show jumping is a different kettle of fish, frowned upon because my games pony also show jumped-Eventhough we were in the intermediate team with all the 16.2hhs and she was 14hh!

There is a lot of stereotyping, which is a real shame. However some of my instructors were absolutely brilliant and have taught me loads, and some of the friends are still friends years later. I had loads of fun at competitions, at camp etc. All in all I loved it, and that one instructor who hated my games ponies had to eat her words when both ponies went clear round 3'3 XC and her daughters pony didn't :D haaaa!
 
Sadly, I never got to do pony club, due to lack of funds, no transport, plus a succession of slightly mad, cheap or free, fixer upper, ponies, which, I am sure would not have been suitable!!!..LOL

we are by no means posh or rich, but, my daughter is a member of our lovely local branch, has been since age 7 and is now 13, it has given her so much confidence, she went from being a very nervous little girl on a very difficult ( horse charity) rescue pony to a happy super confident rider who loves her pony.. ( I have to shut my eyes when they are jumping "huge" fences at times..)
we do, as others have said, have a few posh, "buy everything and expect to win" pushy parents, but, I think you get that everywhere and they can be ignored.. :-)

I have met some lovely people who accept you for what you are and my daughter has made loads of friends from all sorts of backgrounds

Our branch have always been supportive and encouraged everyone who wanted to be on a team to take part in all competitions - not just picking those who had best chance of winning ( we often have three or four teams at an event) if kids just want to attend a few rallies and camp that is fine as well.

I have to say I loved taking her to mini camp and booked the week off work to help out and get involved, she goes to main camp now and parents are sadly banned... :-((

I am hoping she will stay at PC through her teens, as others have said, it provides good cheap instruction, promotes confidence and it is a great leveller .
I would rather she was mucking about with the horses than hanging round the town centre on Saturdays or worse!
 
I was a riding school child when centre's had never heard of affiliating to the pony club. My last school where the advanced group had their "own" ponies was joined to Petersfield. I would have loved to have joined them properly as the few rallies I was aloud to attend were brilliant, but I neither had my own pony, transport or parents to back me! When I started sharing I again had no transport. Then finally aged 17 I joined a pony club based near Chobham. I could hack to the local field but soon found that I was frowned upon for having a coloured cob (these were not in fashion then like they are now and were thought of as common). Whilst I was on my 14hh piebald pony all the others my age were on 16hh + warmbloods and thoroughbreds. Nobody in my group would talk to me and the instructors didn't want to teach us despite us coming 4th at PUK winter championships!

I was also not allowed to compete as I funded my horse share myself and put in all the work. My parents are totally non horsey and refuse to come and watch let alone help. Although I volunteered my own time for the other classes I was not competing in I was refused entry without a parent coming to help :( . Sure enough I left pony club after a year and never looked back! The kids at my current yard seem to have a whale of a time now though and I only wish I could go back 10-20 years!
 
Yep we joined last year :D, had a chance to join and take some one elses pony to the same branch a few years before but that fell through.

Was mega nervous as I was on a pony that had never seen a xc jump and never been to a group lesson and I always get nervous in front of new instructors. Neednt have been was put in a group with all the others on young and intresting ponies and our instructor was lovely. Had a fab time at all the rallies and he learned to love xc, we got through some major(!) water issues and only tried to kill our instructor a few times :p.

I did some research though as lots of the branches near us wouldnt have suited us but the one we are with has fab facilities and are super friendly.
 
I was never a member, can't say I feel I missed out on anything, except probably suffering from a huge case of the green eyed monster as I struggled to stay on my pony that would go through every trick in the book once he was bored (after about 5 minutes :D)

I worked at our RS from the age of 10 upwards, so I think I probably got as much from that as I would the PC.

I help with our PC Centre at work now, the Kids love it and there is certainly no snobbery, they are all in the same boat of being ponyless! We do still have some PC Mums though ;)
 
I was in pony club from when I was about 12 until I was too old!! I went from rallies and handy pony, up through all the levels in the teams right up to doing a good few years round all the open (novice BE) teams and comps.

It was brilliant, not cliquey at all, useful horses but not the most expensive and no bitcheyness, sounds like I was lucky to be in my club compared to some of the comments above!!
 
I was in both the Pony Club (Cheshire Hunt South) and local riding club from age about 7 until I was 18. Back then the Pony Club provided the only really good way of going from unaff eventing to BE as it all started at Novice and the age limits and height of pony etc rules were stricter. I think that it was a lot more serious than riding club however as I was lucky enough to have good ponies/horses and repesented the club in area trial teams etc I really enjoyed it. If I had not been so lucky I don't think it would have been so much fun! I think riding club was probably better for the fun stuff but I learnt more from pony club and competition was held at a higher level in the PC. I would say that one of my best childhood competition memories was thanks to riding club though as I was lucky enough to win the junior horse trials champs for the riding club (at Capesthorne Hall) and it was absolutely fabulous and my club made a massive fuss of me!
 
I was the impoverished kid on the £70 hairy pony with no transport and a mother who didn't want to get involved, in one of the poshest south of England branches :D I did actually get quite a bit of support, especially when the hairy pony occasionally beat the smart expensive ponies, and when I was 16 one of the posh mothers loaned me one of their outgrown super ponies, and with him I did more comps and my B test.

As an adult and an instructor I was really keen to put something back into PC, but I have to say my experience with PC has been a catalogue of disasters and my opinion of the organisation is very very low. I did a lot of voluntary work for them, and then a few years ago I dared to question the finances of a branch (I'd just been asked to join the committee) and found myself summarily drummed out, along with my 7 year old son :() and with a spurious complaint made against me just to round it off. It transpired that the finances were indeed very dodgy, but the PC (HQ) managed to hush the whole thing up - other similar stories made it to the press at the time - I guess this was one they wanted to keep quiet about :rolleyes: The branch was suspended and then restarted with a control freak of a DC who won't delegate and won't consult and runs everything to suit her own child, who is very young, so if you are older than 6 you can forget about it :rolleyes:

Luckily we live near the border so we've moved to a branch of the Irish Pony Club, and I have to say it's a lot more fun, less up itself, and much more like PC used to be :)
 
I was a member of a good local club which almost always got to the Olympia Prince Phillip Cup, and had excellent tetrathlon results. I was a member from age 8 through to about 11 (and I got my 2 loan ponies from one of the PC instructors and they taught me so much I will be forever greatful to her). Unfortunately we couldn't afford transport so I relied upon getting lifts (no rallies in hacking distance) and they were very few and far between. I did junior camp for 2 or 3 years. I was on the quiz team though and we always did pretty well. We never took our turn for hosting the weekly quiz practice sessions - everyone else had great big houses with land and stables and we were in a 3-bed mid-terrace on a busy road! My mum was far too embarrassed to invite everyone round to ours - plus our sitting room was so small, that to be honest, we actually wouldn't have fitted in :eek: :o

I then outgrew the loan ponies and went back to RS for a few years, and got my own horse when I was 15. I rejoined PC then as lots of the rallies and competitions were being held at my livery yard. Unfortunately at my first rally whilst we were waiting for our lesson to start, one of my peers (who was at the same school as me, in the same year) turned to another girl from same school, same year, and said very loudly, "Where do you think she got THAT horse from? The sales? *snigger snigger*". I was furious. My horse (fit and sleek dark bay 16hh TBxID) was actually a lot better-looking than some of theirs! And to rub their nose in it they both couldn't get an exercise right during our lesson and the instructor told them to watch me so that they could learn :D Unfortunately they were even worse to me after that (altho my confidence was boosted!) and so I only did that one rally and gave up PC entirely. Shame I let those 2 girls get to me like that. Still, when you're 15 it's hard to put things like that into perspective.

I would happily recommmend PC to anyone, but I would say to pick your branch carefully and if you aren't happy, don't be afraid to switch branches.
 
BeckyD said:
I would happily recommmend PC to anyone, but I would say to pick your branch carefully and if you aren't happy, don't be afraid to switch branches.
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It is very difficult to switch branches as you need the go ahead from both the old DC and the new DC and it is seriously discouraged to swap (unless you are moving house).
 
Nope I loaned ponies from the RS I was at. Got my own horse aged 15. He is huge and so not suited to RC. I do a few unaffiliated show but nothing major, have been to a RC camp but thats about it.

Think because I knew no one who has been to pony club, I was just far too nervous to have tried it. Particularly as I've never had transport.
 
I went to Pony Club in Australia and apart from the early morning starts absolutely loved it. The only downside for me was 1. The overprotective dad syndrome i.e. dad who had never so much been on a horse, interrupting the instructor mid lesson to advise horse and I were not capable of jumping and hence were not to attempt anything higher than a trotting pole. 2. Spending hours washing and grooming my horses and cleaning my tack to never get the best turned out for the rally ( finally realized after several years unless I was related to/or personal friends of the instructors I was never going to be awarded anything).
 
I lived and breathed for PC as a child/teenager. It gave me lots of fun, instruction and motivation, taking me from a child on a scruffy out of control pony to a team member on the same animal. It inspired me to go on and do my AI, and teach for pony clubs as an adult.

My stepson has been in pony club for the past six years, and is having loads of fun. I do occasionally stand on the sidelines and cringe at some of what goes on (bit cliquey sometimes, but then again the committee do put a lot of time and effort in when other parents do nothing at all..) but he is learning and enjoying it, so thats all that counts. Our pony club is not snobby at all, its a middle of the road club really. There are all kinds of types, from happy hacking ponies to expensive ponies with rich "new money" families that have all singing all dancing boxes etc. Often its the plainer, less expensive ponies that do the best.
 
i am a member now and i think its great. obviously you will get the odd roup of snobby pushy mums and bratty kids but on the whole its lovely. i have some good freinds there and the intructors are great. i have only been to one branch so cant speak for anywhere else but on the whole i think most of the bad press isnt true. again, theres always going to be snobbery but who cares when your having fun :D i have had other teenagers looking down their noses at me like they own the place, so i changed training groups and everyone (including parents) are very freindly xx as said by someone else you get people with there posh ponies and high tech lorries haaha but as long as you can get there and have fun who really cares!! :)
 
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